


Build-A-Bear

by harsassypotters



Series: Merlin fics! [3]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Crack, Drabble, Fluff, Gen, Humor, In case you couldn't tell, No Beta, Self-Indulgent, Uther Pendragon's A+ Parenting (Merlin), We die like aithusa's potential, stuffed animals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:28:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28070991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harsassypotters/pseuds/harsassypotters
Summary: "I'm taking you to Build-A-Bear," Merlin announces, marching into the kitchen already dressed and ready to go.Arthur chokes on his coffee.
Relationships: Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Merlin fics! [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2053980
Comments: 8
Kudos: 64





	Build-A-Bear

**Author's Note:**

> A gift for Neha, who dragged me to the Build-A-Bear shop at the mall! <3

It's a beautiful Saturday morning. The sun is shining, the birds are singing. Arthur actually remembered to clean out the coffee machine yesterday, which means he can get his daily dose of caffeine without having to deal with day-old, possibly toxic coffee sludge. 

So, of course, his wonderful, thoughtful flatmate has to go and ruin it for him. 

"I'm taking you to Build-A-Bear," Merlin announces, marching into the kitchen already dressed and ready to go.

Arthur chokes on his coffee, his stomach yawning into a sinking pit. 

He knows, unfortunately, full well where this came from. 

Merlin and Arthur had been at the mall, and as they passed the Build-A-Bear, Merlin had made an offhand comment about how much he _missed_ going there and customizing his own stuffed animals, how much he _missed_ actually having faith in society before he was left to deal with student loans and fascist leaders. And Arthur had made an equally offhand comment that he had never been.

Well, _he_ thought it was pretty offhand. Merlin apparently disagreed, because he froze in his tracks, causing a mom with a stroller to nearly veer into him.

Once the mom had maneuvered out of the way--muttering a few choice words under her breath that Arthur really thought shouldn't be said in a place teeming with small children--Merlin finally managed to splutter out, "You--you've never been to Build-A-Bear? Not _once_?"

"Um," Arthur said, "no?"

Merlin gasped, looking affronted. Which Arthur really thought was not fair, considering it wasn't exactly _his_ fault that Uther had been too preoccupied with his business to bring him to a stuffed animal shop. What was he supposed to do, steal a car and a credit card?

Well, that _was_ what Morgana had done that one time Uther hadn't let her go to the movies. But he was a better citizen than her. 

Arthur had rolled his eyes. "It's not a big deal, Merlin. Don't worry, I have no underlying trauma from being tragically kept from Build-A-Bear all my young life."

And once Merlin had finally managed to regain his abilities for speech and lower his blood pressure--which took quite a while--Arthur had thought that was the end of it. Really. It wasn't like Merlin was going to drag him to the nearest Build-A-Bear as soon as he could, was it?

He should have known better than to underestimate Merlin.

"Merlin," Arthur says, wondering if Merlin's finally lost it, "I am a twenty-one year old man. I'm not going to _Build-A-Bear_."

"Yes, you very well are," Merlin says firmly, walking to the coffee machine and pouring his own cup--which was supposed to be _Arthur's_ second cup, actually, but apparently for all the kindness Build-A-Bear taught him, Merlin can't be bothered to brew his own, "because you owe me for that time I pretended to be the paramedic that said your father was deathly ill and you had to see to him _immediately_ when you wanted to get out of going to one of Morgana's parties."

This, Arthur thinks as he reluctantly goes to get dressed, should count as a form of blackmail.

+++

Okay, so maybe a tiny part of Arthur thought Merlin was joking. That he would drag Arthur all the way to the mall just to say "Sike! You actually believed me?" and then they would go get boba tea and live happily ever after or something.

Merlin wasn't joking.

"Merlin," Arthur hisses as Merlin leads-tugs-almost bodily drags Arthur to the Build-A-Bear store, "aren't you embarrassed? At all?"

"No," Merlin answers shortly, and he's either a shameless liar or has sacrificed his dignity at an early age. "C'mon, Arthur, it'll be fun! We need to give you a childhood!"

There is quite a hustle and bustle in the mall, and though literally no one could care less about two awkward college boys, Arthur can feel every eye on him as they slink into the Build-A-Bear shop.

Merlin pitches a sigh. "Just pretend you're picking up a gift for a younger cousin or sibling or something, Arthur, it's not that big of a deal."

But Arthur barely hears him, because he is in _shock_.

The Build-A-Bear is perfect. Better than he could have ever imagined. It has truly, utterly surpassed all expectations, not that Arthur's were particularly high.

Stuffed animal heads are piled in baskets, and at any other time this would be completely terrifying, but it looks _cute_. Stuffed animal bodies of all types line the walls--seriously, Arthur feels like he's back in science class--and a machine stirs white, cloud-like stuffing that looks so soft Arthur would gladly leap in. And:

"Merlin," Arthur gasps quietly, "is that a bear dressed up as _Harry Potter_?"

"Er," Merlin answers, apparently disconcerted by Arthur's sudden change of heart, "yes?"

"I'm going to buy it," Arthur decides.

And he really did mean _it_ , as in singular. But there's so much more to it than he thought: so many different stuffed animals he can outfit with so many different costumes.

"Arthur," Merlin starts, "are you sure you need to buy all these different Hogwarts robes?"

"Yes," Arthur sniffs, "I refuse to be House-ist, Merlin."

"Well, alright," Merlin says, and then: "But why do you need _two_ Gryffindor ones?"

"Well," Arthur says impatiently, "I need one for Harry _Otter_ \--get it, he's an otter--and one for this weasel."

"Ron?" Merlin guesses, peering at it.

"I was going to say Ginny. Harry Otter needs a romantic life, you know!" Arthur frowns. "But you're right, he needs a best friend too." He grabs another weasel and set of Gryffindor robes.

Merlin sighs, then asks, "Do I even want to know what you're planning for this poor ferret?"

"It's Draco Malfoy!" Arthur exclaims gleefully. "And I bought everyone these cute brooms--see, so they can have Quidditch matches--"

"What about the Ravenclaw one?" Merlin interrupts, pointing a finger that is definitely erring on accusatory. 

"It's for Cho," Arthur tells him defensively. "Harry Otter and Ginny Weasel must have some romantic tension and jealousy, you know--"

"I really regret bringing you here."

+++

Merlin finally manages to drag Arthur out of there, but only after he spends a grand total of $200.

"Well," Merlin says as they leave, having gotten very strange looks from the cashiers, "I believe I may have made a mistake bringing you here."

"Oh, shush," Arthur says, already calculating if he can fit all these stuffed animals in his bed. 


End file.
